The Apostille certificate is an international notary approval. It’s a legal document per the Hague Convention where Turkiye and the U.S. are member states along with 100+ other states. Apostille certificates are usually issued by U.S. Secretary of State. Capital cities of each state have a secretary of state. In most cases, other large cities of a state have a secretary of state or governor’s office.
The difference between a U.S. state notary and an Apostille certificate is that a state notary is a supervisor’s approval, and an Apostille certificate is the manager’s approval. Additionally, the Turkish Consulate offers a Turkish notary approval. You won’t need a Turkish notary approval in your U.S. divorce registration case.
Specifically in divorce decree registration, the applicant needs their U.S. divorce decree (i) translated, (ii) affidavit of translation signed by the translator, (iii) signature approved by a U.S. (state) notary, and (iv) notary approved by the manager aka Apostille certificate.
